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tv   The War Room With Jennifer Granholm  Current  January 29, 2013 7:00pm-8:00pm PST

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that came on the air i went -- that's what i want to do. >> joy: now you're an author. you wrote a book with dave barry. it is in paperback. how do you write a novel with two people? >> you know something he and i met. we met each other on previous book tours for our other books. he lives in coral gables, florida. i live in new jersey. we alternated chapters. i came up with this idea. okay. there is a kid's soccer game. 10-year-old girls. championship game. one girl kicks what would be the winning goal. okay. but the ref calls her offsides. okay. the girl's father goes ballistic. and he and the ref have a feud. so i'll be the ref. i'll be the voice of the ref. so i did the first chapter as the ref. >> joy: you spoke it or wrote it? >> wrote it. i sent him the chapter. he sent back the chapter as the girl's father. and it kept on alternating and now we've got this movie deal
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with universal with steve carell to play one of the dads. >> joy: that's fantastic. congratulations! >> thank you. >> joy: that's great. it was lovely to see you. >> great being here. thank you. >> joy: alan's book, "lunatics" is in stores now. i'll see you all next time. >> jennifer: i'm jennifer granholm. tonight in the war room, the mimiationn d datatononnunu to move forward so far avoiding any landmines that would discredit the following phrase: ladies and gentlemen, it looks like there's a chance. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> jennifer: you recall that yesterday a bipartisan group of
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senators came up with a plan to reform our broken immigration system. and for that they deserve a hearty iran of applause. and they did get some appreciation, or at least from progressives but conservatives still need to be convinced that their leaders didn't just give in to the democrats. so before the president could even make his own remarks on immigration, republican committee members were striding around the talk shows talking tough, and pledging not to give any ground. here is senator marco rubio on fox news this morning. >> the president sees this as an opportunity to move this issue to the left, to try to outbid us on immigration. i think this speaks poorly on the outcome of this entire endeavor. >> jennifer: that's interesting. he was criticizing the president before the president had even spoken today. why would he do that? well senator rubio is on a short list for possible
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presidential list for 2014. and he needs to shore up his own support from the right wing, and to do that he has to speak against hissing i we foes, the president, and one big hurdle for him is all the false information that is out there about the plan. so here he is in that same fox interview dispelling one of the biggest lies circulating on the right wing blogs. >> there are some who say you're adding millions to the dole. 6 million will get government assistance. if that's not accurate, why is that the case. the immigration you spelled out so far will prevent that. >> i won't support a bill that does that, i can tell you that much. that's not what the principles say. the principles are very clear that they do not qualify for
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federal benefits under this plan. >> jennifer: interesting. not the warm and fuzzy reception that he's probably used to getting on fox news. but that was just a warm up for senator rubio. after that fox interview he really went into the conservative lion's den. he paid a visit to rush limbaugh to pitch to the truly right wing that he hopes to lead, and actually it seemed to work. >> i've seen the good that legal immigration has done for our country and i've seen the train that illegal immigration has done for our country. >> what you're doing is admirable and noteworthy. you're recognizing reality. you're trumpeting, shouting it. my concern is that the president wants to change reality. >> jennifer: interesting, rush's reality is never going to line up with the president's, thank goodness for that. but in the end senator rubio got when what he came for which was
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the coveted limbaugh blessing. actually, the president got what he wanted, which is a popular republican senator selling immigration to the right. it's a win-win. later in the day when the president finally did give his remarks, he was careful to say that he backed the bipartisan solution, and he wouldn't be trying to push through his own agenda. very promising. this was not just partisan wrangling. the goal here is to help undocumented immigrants who are already a part of the this country's economy and he made the argument that helping them would help all americans. >> obama: every day, like the rest of us, they go out and they go out and trytry to earn a living. they often do that in a shadow of economy where employers may offer them less than minimum wage or make them work overtime without extra pay.
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when in a happens, it's not just bad for them but the entire economy. because all the business who is are trying to do the right thing thing, hire people legally following the rules, they are the ones who suffer. >> jennifer: he's right, the shadow economy hurts everyone, particularly the workers who are operating in it. 67% of domestic workers are paid below the minimum wage. less than 2% receive retirement or pension. 65% of those workers don't have health insurance and there is absolutely no recurs. 85% of undocumented immigrants who encounter problems in their working conditions didn't complain because of their shaky immigration status. they have reason to be concerned, that it would be used against them because among workers who were let go, 23% are
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fired for complaining about working conditions. all americans should agree whatever their political party that we need an economy based on good jobs and safe working conditions. not low pay and fear of retribution of management. forwith the help of republicans like marco rubio the president just might be an i believe to get it done. on behalf of all americans even us democrats, i would like to say to senator rubio for enlarging the immigration discussion on the right. joining me now to discuss the agenda, a home care advocacy group. and also with me is maria from berkeley california. thank you for you both. thank you for coming in inside
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"the war room." >> thank you for having us. >> what is it like for immigrant domestic workers who are trying to earn a living in this country? >> i couldn't stop thinking about the domestic workers that ii know. women like maria who takes care of a young person with a disability, and his family of six. she lives in with them, she does all the cooking cleaning, ironing, which adds up to 18 hours a day for less than $3 an hour. she makes it possible for everyone in that household to go to work every day and do what they do in the world yet she works under highly vulnerable and highly stressful conditions. >> jennifer: she's not alone. obviously there are millions of workers just like her. i'm cure i curious maria such an
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interesting political scene that we're seeing what do you think of this strategy by bashing the president, do you think it's going to work--by backing the president. do you think it's going to work? >> i say thank you to senator rubio. for those like jen poo just talked about. we made them i am visible and its time for them to come out of the shadows. senator rubio understands that he has to condemn a portion of the house republicans who do not care about immigrant voters. that this is in their interest in the long term. i really think that while he's attacking the president as you said before this president had even made his speech, he's laying open an opportunity for
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the right to come meet democrats halfway. >> jennifer: absolutely. ai-jen. those who are working, can you describe for us what the relationship is between unions and domestic workers? >> domestic workers see themselves as part of the movement for workers rights that unions have been driving for generations in this country. and all of us stand together for the domestic worker from brooklyn to the uaw member in michigan, we all stand together for a road to citizenship for the full 11 million. >> jennifer: it's certainly an opportunity for the unions, but mostly it is an opportunity for the workers to have meaningful wages and decent working conditions, which is not
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something historically that the republicans have been focused on and maria on the political side what do you think this fight over immigration reform and conditions for workers like that what will it mean in the next republican party. can a candidate win without the far right support? >> well, if they can't that's actually good news for democrats. because it will--the party will continue to be seen as more and more extreme. i think the republican party and i've seen some republican strategists write about this, they have got to make the case to the american people that they are about opportunity and fairness and hard work. this is why the opposition--you know the wall street journey the cato institute not baking liberal thought are very
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supportive of immigration reform. they understand that people wanting to work is actually a key part of an important part of the american economy. bringing them out of the shadows ultimately makes sure that everyone is playing by the rules. can the republicans really tamp down the zennic phobic. except for native americans, everyone else in this country came from some place else and it was us versus them. for many families they were them until they became part of the american dream. that's what we're doing right now. he's saying remember our history. it's time for us to make our society for inclusive and absolutely, let's make sure that everybody plays by the rules. >> jennifer: i thought it was very interesting in his remarks he was very evocative of the of the european immigrants who are now several generations back and probably are the roots
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of the many of the republican, the irish polish scandinavians, i thought it was very strategic for him to call at a forth and remind us that we're all a country of immigrants. the president mentioned immigrants who come here for higher education and then lead because their visas expire. let's take a listen of what he said. >> obama: right now there are brilliant students from all over the world sitting in classrooms at our top universities. they're earning degrees in the fields of the future like engineering and science. but once they finish school. once they earn that diploma there is a chance they have to leave our country. >> jennifer: i know you've been focused on domestic workers. but how could a visa program change the u.s. economy? >> well, i think he made a really good point and important
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point that we need to remember about the importance of people having the opportunity to stay and build a life here once they've been educated here. i also think that less than 5% of the entire workforce is undocumented, and most of those workers are paying working in low-wage, very dangerous vulnerable jobs. if we can bring them out of the shadows and invest in the quality of those jobs and a road to citizenship for those workers we can address economic inequality and create millions of quality good jobs to strengthen the economy for everyone. i think it's important to talk about the high-tech workers and the opportunities there and we should really think about how we're investing in the quality of low-wage jobs and addressing economic and equality through this plan.
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>> jennifer: thank you so much to both of you for coming inside "the war room." al-gen patio and maria eschevez. michael tomasky will tell us if it has a chance of emerging unscathed. guns and gods. some believe the country was built on both. and later norm! i mean john, the next secretary of state's trip to everyone' favorite watering
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you know who's coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys who do like verse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. >> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking.
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>> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me. >> absolutely! >> and so would mitt romeny. >> she's joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> only on current tv. >> jennifer: the tone on immigration reform has come a long way since the presidential campaign. here is how the oddly named group american principles in action. here's how they tried to frame the president's immigration record back in august. >> don't be fooled by president obama's words. he's not for immigrants. he only wants our vote. a temporary solution that still cheats them of equal status. why didn't he keep his promise of immigration reform? >> jennifer: that tv ad aired in
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nevada. fortunately, the president got the last laugh by carrying nevada and then returning to las vegas today. and then today's speech wasn't really about votes. maybe it was a bit but really it was deeper than that. president obama is actually trying to find a solution. and in doing so he inspires, a we just said, those of us whose families came to this exceptional family to make a life. it's my story. unless you're a native american, it's your story too. now the question is whether the congress will be able to overcome the tired and old arguments and make it their story, a bipartisan tale as well. with us to break down the road ahead for immigration reform is "newsweek" daily beast correspondent michael tomasky who joins us from washington, d.c. welcomed in "the war room." >> good evening nice to be with
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you. >> jennifer: great to have you in the chair. there are some potential roadblocks for both sides of the aisle, are there not? for example tying citizenship to board security, the future primary challenges for republicans like marco rubio. what jumps out at you michael as the biggest hurdle? >> maybe the last one that you mentioned there governor. the president's proposal today that he outlined in his speech would provide the benefits of the whole package to same-sex marriages couples consisting of one american citizen and one foreign national. i doubt the republicans will be excited about this. one already said something dismissive about it and said that is not going to fly for the
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americans at all. i don't know if bomb obama is out there with a chip that he'll give up at the last minute or does he mean it. he took a stand with the same-sex couples so i think he means it. i'll be fascinated to see over the next few weeks what the polling is, and if the americans support obama's position, then we'll see how the fight on that plays out. >> jennifer: plays out yeah, i was assuming that it was a chip, as you say and that the other principles which have been articulated which are tough in and of themselves will fall into line. obviously republicans can tie this up in committees, can they not, if they choose not to move forward on it. >> oh, sure they can and there are other grounds of disagreement. i think this panel of southwestern governors and attorneys general may be something that democrats aren't going to be crazy about, and
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other things. but i think governor, the big thing here is just again the demographics of the house and the demographics of the districts of most republican house. >> jennifer: before you go further, let me show people a little bit on that because the national journal did find there was 131 house republicans that represent districts that are more than 80% white. only 31 democrats 31 democratic districts are the same. that's the chart. how does that affect how the issue will proceed in the house? >> yes well, that tells us that most republicans are not going to be feeling in terms of their districts the kinds of national pressures that we know exist nationally for the republican party. there is national pressure for the republican party to change. but when you look at these individual districts and individual house members they're not going to be feeling feeling
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that pressure inside their districts. so can they put the national priority ahead of their own necks? remember as you well know inside their districts there may be counter veiling pressure to not come to come to that. >> jennifer: it's going to be really tough in the house and the question will be whether or not john boehner will be able to put up the vote. he has done it in the past, so he might be able to do that and take one for the team nationally. i think it's going to--as this plays out the republican presidential primary 2016 will i think lay bear a lot of these very more uglyier elements of the republican party. again it will surface and again it will be a problem for them if they button this right away. a buzzfeed posted a memo from a
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moderate republican group and it advised the republicans how to talk about immigration and it includes the following advice. do use undocumented immigrant when referring to those here without documentation. but don't use the word illegals or aliens, and don't use the term anchor baby. what do you think the republicans' learning curve on communicating reform is going to be? >> good luck with that. maybe if frank lunce was telling them, i don't know, this will be interesting to keep tabs, to see how many go along with it. and maybe they'll call democratic party rather than the democrat party. john o'sullivan is rallying conservative opposition, and with reasons like this. this is what h he said. the conservative movement needs a good fight to get it off the canvas. this is a good fight and it's a
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fight for the good. we should relish it. that's what i think these republicans are up against. do you think republican house members could use this as another way to boost their cause in their own eyes? >> well, sure, they could. some will want to. this is going to be a really interesting question if this goes on. when a vote nears is that network that we saw ref up in 2006, 2007, to block any compromise legislationed is that network going to do the same thing or is it going to change? i don't know. i have a feeling that it will be the former, not the latter. >> jennifer: you have a powerful column on a separate topic regarding the boy scouts move to allow gays in their ranks what do you think just as a parting thought, what does that tell us about equality and bigotry in
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america? >> it tells us a lot of god things. it tells us that the country has changed dramatically and quickly on these cultural questions. the last year's election, a switch was flipped is what i say to people. the initiatives about same-sex marriage, and the initiatives about marijuana to a lesser extent but to some extent, and then now this, it tells us that we're in a new country, a very different country, a better country than we were in ten years ago. >> jennifer: out from the shadows and into the light on all these issues. michael tomasky. thank you for coming inside "the war room" again. up next, if we have the right to bear arms and our rights are god-given, shouldn't the religious community have a voice in the gun safety debate? a little semantics we're going to explore it right after the
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break. thinking. >>(narrator) bill press is on current tv. >>liberal and proud of it. >>(narrator) unafraid, outspoken, and above all politically direct. >>we'll do our best to carry the flag from 6 to 9 every morning.
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but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections tuberculosis lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores have had hepatitis b have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one
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>> jennifer: you're back inside "the war room." i'm jennifer granholm. call me crazy but i really thought in the wake of the sandy hook school shootings that democrats and republicans would come together to pass common-sense gun safety measures. of course it could still happen, . >> he is directing the center for disease control to conduct research into the causes of gun violence. but gun violence is not a
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disease. and lawful gun ownership is not a disease. it is a constitutionally protected individual right. >> jennifer: he is right about this: gun violence is not a disease. it's an epidemic in this country. just look at chicago. there have been 40 gun deaths there so far this month making january the deadliest month in a decade there. something has to be done. and if the centers for disease control can help us understand why so many americans needlessly die from guns. if the cdc can help us understand the mental health triggers for gun violence, i'm all for it. i pray that our next guest can lift my sags spirits, vincent dimarco is the national coordinator for the "faiths united to prevent gun violence." he comes to us from baltimore
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tonight. thank you for joining us in "the war room." >> thanks for having me. >> jennifer: when and how did your organization get it's start? >> faiths uniteed to prevent gun violence started in 2010. when faith leaders successfully worked against toe tobacco to enact life-saving fda legislation. we thought we could use that same authority same power to reduce gun violence in america. that's when we came together. since then over 40 national faith groups have come to together representing tens of millions of americans to say it's time to reduce gun violence in america and there are ways to do it. faiths united to prevent gun violence is here because there are gun violence protection measures that work and have been
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proven to work. >> jennifer: tell us what the specifics are about the measures that you're proposing. >> the specific measures that we're proposing, a letter from faith leaders sent to president obama and congress said we want three things. we want universal background checks to make sure anyone purchasing a handgun whether it's a gun show, private sale, internet, has to go through a background check. right now 40% of gun sales don't have a background check. that doesn't make any sense. we want to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines that can shoot bullets like the ones used in aurora and other horrible shootings. and we want to make gun trafficking a federal crime and keep people from taking guns from one state to another. >> jennifer: you didn't say an assault weapons bans. >> i did. i did we want a ban of assault
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weapons and high capacity gun magazines. >> jennifer: oh, okay, you put them together. these things are all things that the president has put forward as suggestions from his--from the vice president's group. the vice president did reach out to the faith community to make sure they were on board. specifically how would your members go about affecting change? will they speak from the pulpit on it? will they rally the church members? how will they use their power to make things happen. >> first of all faith members are already doing that. the newtown tragedy was a wake-up call for america and it completely changed this debate. i compare it to the police dog riot in birmingham alabama during the civil rights movement. when america saw those police
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dogs attacking those kids, americans said that's it: when americans saw children riddled by bullets they said that's enough. we have to make 2 done. specifically on january 15th, martin luther king jr.'s actual birthday, we september the letter from 47 top national faith leaders to president obama saying we need these gun prevention measures that work. now we're working on getting letters from the state level and making sure that members of congress know that the faith community want this to happen, demand that this happens because of three things we are going to succeed. number one the moral authority of the faith community. the same moral authority that helped convince congress to save from tobacco and save lives. second and then third mobilize
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the grassroots. >> jennifer: that's what i'm talking about. if you can get members of your parishes mosques synagogues, get them out and get them to write letters. that is the most powerful thing and i pray that you're successful. that's all i can say. thank you so much vincent dimarco from faiths united to prevent gun violence. in 46 days now 1356 americans have died as a result of gun violence. a rough estimate from slate magazine. sadly dr. ronald gilbert is one of them. a patient shot dr. gilberted in his newport beach california exam room. today would have been dr. gilbert's 53rd birthday. no family should be planning a funeral instead of a celebration. another reason why we need a
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granola bars nature at its most delicious. desmond tutu said a quote that is one of my favorite quotes. "we are tied together in a web of humanity. i am a person only through you. i can only be a person only through you." that really resonates me and drives my work. the world is becoming an incredibly connected place. mobile phones are really driving that connection. at kiva, we run an internet marketplace. people can lend to other people for the purpose of starting a small business, going to school or a variety of other good causes. you can go to kiva.org and you can see pictures and profiles of people from over sixty countries you can lend them as little as $25. if they are successful, they
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will pay you back. dear rixi, you're a honduran immagrant. you're coming to the us, you have an idea to start, you know, a women's cosmetics store or a clothing store. you're going to need a lot of things, ya know, to pay the rent, permits inventory, advertising, marketing so that adds up quite a bit. you're going to need tens of thousands of dollars to start a small busines. there is ten million-plus people completely left out of the formal finical system. banks don't lend to people like that at all. there is a lot of opportunity to decrease unemployment, provide employment, provide economic opportunity and raise our standard of living by investing in small business. our hearts are an incredibly powerful thing. good technology can help amplify this power and create an incredibly powerful force that can spread to every country in the world.
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>> jennifer: last january president obama appointed three people to the national labor relations board without the traditional senate confirmation process. he did so by using his recess appointment power. senate republicans objected. they argued that he couldn't do that because at the time the senate was still meeting in what's called a pro-forma session, a super brief session sometimes just lasting a few minutes. that's been used by democrats and republicans explicitly to keep presidents from making these so-called recess appointments. well, the obama administration countered that he had the power to make those recess appointments because the senate was, practically speaking, and for all other intents and
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purposes, in recess. well this past friday the white house lost that argument in court. a three-judge panel on a federal court of appeals in washington, d.c. ruled that president obama's recess appointments were unconstitutional. wouldn't you know it, all three of those panel judges were appointed by republicans presidents. well, white house spokesperson jay carney said the decision went against the traditional balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches. take a listen. >> the decision is novel and unprecedented. it contradicts 150 years of practice by democratic and republican administrations. so we respectfully but strongly disagree with the ruling. >> jennifer: that decision, if it stand could have a huge impact on every recess
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appointment made by this president and all those come after him. with me today to discuss the implications of the decision on the national labor relations board, and federal balance of power, really, is new york thames labor reporter steven. greenhouse. welcome to "the war room." >> nice to be here. >> jennifer: explain why the court invalidated those decisions. >> it's much more sweeping than anybody expected. it said the president's ability to make recess appointments. it's just one time each year. at the end of each year when congress and the senate and the house end their session and before they begin their new session in january only in that two-, three-,four- five- -day window can presidents make appointments. since 1867 when andrew johnson they were making appointments
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all throughout the year when congress was in recess. the three-judge panel said no that's wrong since 1867. the only time you can make recess appointment is during the short period when congress ended session at the end of december before january. it will make it harder, any future president to make recess appointments when the senate really digs in and tries to stop an appointee. >> i mean really, this sort of pro-forma session that they called it, was it just a ploy, did it not violate the letter if not the spirit of the law? >> many people think so. the obama administration called them sham sessions. they were begun first in 2007 by the democrats in order to block president bush from making conservative appointments. then the republicans followed
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suit and had these so-called sham session where is they just meet for like three one senator would be in the chamber for three minutes. they would say that was a real session and that means that the senate is in recess. president obama said that's ridiculous. they're sham sessions and it should not prevent me from making appointments. the republicans have fought very hard to block any democratic appointment to the nlrb. they madeso the president felt that to have a functioning, working nrb to oversee labor relations between companies and unions, he needed to make these appointments. >> jennifer: of course, but it goes beyond that. richard cordray was not part of the case, but he was appointed director of the consumer protection bureau on that same day that these other two were. what could that mean for him?
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>> so it looked very much like congress is on this 20-day christmas holiday recess and they would have these very quick sessions. on january 4, 2011 the appointment made three recess appointments to the nrb and appointed mr. cordray. now it looks like he may not an legitimate appointment to head the finance board bureau. so there is a separate case challenging his appointment. meanwhile president obama last thursday renominated and said senate, we want you to stop dragging your feet, and american homeowners need a working functioning bureau to protect them. >> jennifer: into the meantime, whatever the decisions were, and whatever decisions the nlrb has
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made in this interim period, what does this mean for those decisions? could it be abrogated as a result of not having people appointed that were not official. >> they could be totally nullified. over the past year the nlrb has issued 300 decisions and i suspect the losers of those decisions will go to court and say please declare all those decisions are nullified just like the one that the three-judge panel said. >> jennifer: it's a mess. they made a mess. it's going to be horrible. if this opinion stands, and there is no real filibuster reform that we saw last week, doesn't it mean that a minority in the senate will be able to block the president for all time. >> it could mean that, except, except at the end of each year
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when this are openings. two of the judges said only when the openings actually become open during those three- to five days that's the only time you can make recess appointments. this past-- >> jennifer: it's ridiculous. >> they expect other court of appeals to rule the other way. to overturn, to this 150-year-old tradition, we can't allow that. and it leaves the nlrb in total limbo. the court an is saying you have to stop work. the appointees are no longer legitimate. that will leave just one person on the nlrb current chairman mark pierce. that would put the nlrb out of business. >> jennifer: it's ridiculous. just ridiculous. anyway steven, it has not gotten a whole lot of press. you've been writing about this as you do very eloquently. thank you for coming inside "the war room."
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steven greenhouse, labor reporter for the "new york times." up next, the chicken soup for the soul what we like to call the best for the rest. and brett erlich comes across a twitter feet as hustling as his own. >> coming up, great (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.
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>> jennifer: let's head to los angeles to see what cenk uygur has for tonight. >> cenk: we've got unrest in the middle east. massacre in syria riots in egypt. then we turn to the nfl. it turns out to be a non-profit, incredibly training.
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then we have the great grandson of elron hubbard and he'll tell us what inside the scientology really like. >> jennifer: wow, a diverse show. now the best of the rest. the stories i don't want you progressives to miss. there is good news from ohio today. the governor, speaker of the house, the secretary of state made it all clear that they're not going to change the ohio electoral college system. remember we covered this a couple of days ago. if that system had been in place in november romney would have won the majority of ohio's electoral vote despite having lost the popular vote. another state also considering that reform was virginia. but today that was di defeated in committee, and it's just as well because virginia's governor was not a supporter of it.
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>> that's not going to happen. >> and you don't think it should happen in michigan. >> i am afraid that people will ignore virginia if that happens or go to one congressional district in virginia. that's not the way to go. you should campaign statewide and say we were pretty relevant. we would lose that. >> jennifer: yeah, you would have lost that and a lot more. now michigan's house is also looking at these changes. hopefully they'll be shamed into rejecting this election rigging as well. then in more bipartisan news today the u.s. senate voted 94-3 to confirm massachusetts senator john kerry as secretary of state. that was not really a surprise since he's an esteemed statesman and a recognizable u.s. senator. maybe these guys will give senator kerry the respect that he deserves. >> hey guys. how are you? >> good. >> we're really big fans of
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yours. >> well,. >> can we get your autograph? >> sure, let me get something to write on. >> an autograph. >> yeah, i love that work did you on the train wreck. they ought to get you "60 minutes" for angeller. >> i'm john kerry senator kerry from massachusetts. >> oh, our senator. i'm sorry man. so sorry. didn't mean to bother you. >> jennifer: it worked for the autograph. that's norm and cliff dising the senator 20 years ago on "cheers." sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name. for john kerry that's the state department. speaking of beer and fun two staples of the hipster lunch twinkees and pabst blue ribbon
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beer. a deal for pabst blue ribbon to buy hostess out of bankruptcy. a shot of whiskey and what could be more american apparel than all that. maybe the sugar in those cupcakes might turn off all the skinny jeans wearing i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.
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>> jennifer: so trust me on this. elected officials have entire teams looking over their social media network and e-mail lists. what happens after they leave office? as brett erlich explains, scott brown found out the hard way.
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shh brett's talking now. >> there are plenty of good moments in political digital correspondence, but this is a great one. great moment in political digital correspondence. when scott brown was a massachusetts senator, someone else wrote his tweets. now that he's no longer a senator he has to write them on his own. a few days ago he tweeted this. it was probably an inadvertent sweet, and received a very inned inadvertent response. i'll translate it from twitter speak to colloquial bostonian. >> according to boston.com brown waited until after midnight to tweet three responses. first, you're brilliant mac. second whatever. and third